Canadian NBA Lottery Pick Anthony Bennett has Surgery

Brampton Ontario’s Anthony Bennett may still be a top five pick in this year’s NBA entry draft, but his route to the June 27th draft has taken a detour. Bennett underwent surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff in his left shoulder Wednesday and will be out of action for at least four months.

“Anthony had an unstable SLAP [superior labral tear] tear which was successfully repaired,” Dr. David Altchek said in a statement. “He can return to the court in four months. His prognosis is for 100 percent recovery.”

Bennett’s rehabilitation will keep him out of pre-draft workouts and Summer League. The 20-year-old power forward was projected to be the fourth or fifth pick in the first round of the draft. Bennett assured his Twitter followers that the operation went as well. “Everything is good, they said it went well , appreciate everyone that sent their wishes & prayers.”

Bennett may still become the highest drafted Canadian in NBA history, but he’s probably fighting an uphill battle. Tristan Thompson was drafted fourth overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2011. Still, Bennett looks to be a top-end NBA talent in the making. At 6-foot-8 and 240 pounds, he is already and imposing offensive force. Bennett averaged 16.1 points per game with the UNLV Runnin’ Rebels last season while also pulling down 8.1 rebounds per contest. By the sounds of things, Bennett’s injury shouldn’t hurt his draft stock much.

“You always would prefer a guy is healthy, works out for you and can play in summer league,” one GM reportedly told ESPN.com. “However, I don’t think in this case that it will really matter. We got a good feel for his game. He’s one of the most NBA-ready prospects in the draft. I wouldn’t blink taking him in the Top 5 as long as the surgery is successful.”